1. Prior Art
As is known, bakery products are commonly made from wheat flour containing gluten, which contributes to the typical texture, flavor, and form of the usual pancake, bread, and cake products. There are, however, circumstances in which wheat flour is not readily available or cannot be used for the production of baked products.
E.g., a segment of the population suffers from dietary wheat intolerance, which includes disturbances such as classical celiac disease and related, less well-defined wheat intolerances and allergies. All are expressed by gastrointestinal disturbances, which make wheat-based products unacceptable for use. Similarly, Jewish dietary laws strictly prohibit the common use of wheat flour and its leavened products during the eight-day period of the Jewish holiday, Passover.
The prior art has addressed this circumstance by replacing wheat flour with various combinations of other finely milled grains, e.g., rice, sweet rice, and millet flour. Also beans, e.g., soy, fava, and garbanzo bean flours have been used. In addition, bakers have added root starches, e.g., arrowroot, tapioca, potato and yam, and gluten substitutes such as xanthan gum, guar gum, locust-beam gum, alginate, pregelatinized starch, and carboxymethylcellulose.
Mochi, a traditional Japanese food normally made from steamed and pounded brown or white sweet rice, is favored by many such gluten-intolerant individuals and is commonly used as a wheat-free staple food. In the U.S., traditional mochi is available for purchase in natural foods markets and stores specializing in Asian foods. Mochi is normally formed into a slab that is wrapped in plastic and sold in the refrigerated section. Being a refrigerated product, traditional mochi is perishable, with a shelf-life of about 120 days, and remains usable for only a few days after it is opened.
At least one brand of mochi is available in a limited selection of flavors, containing various ingredients added during the manufacturing process to produce a variety of tastes and textures.
Traditional mochi is prepared by cutting it into pieces and baking, steaming, or frying it. When it is heated, mochi softens and expands, often forming a hollow pillow shape.
Because of its non-fluid nature, it would be difficult and impractical for the consumer to incorporate additional ingredients into mochi in the traditional form as it is purchased in the market.
2. Advantages
In one embodiment, a single ingredient, sweet rice, a.k.a., glutinous rice, is processed into a substance which will, with certain recipe adjustments, yield satisfactory results as a wheat flour substitute in certain recipes and situations, notably, cakes, cookies and pancakes.
The absence of a more complicated combination of ingredients decreases the likeliness that an individual consuming a food item prepared with the product of the present embodiment will suffer adverse effects of an allergy or food sensitivity to an ingredient.
When applying the process of the present embodiment to whole-grain (brown) rice, an additional benefit is that sprouting the rice, as part of the process, increases the content of sugar, fiber, vitamin C and Gamma-AminButyric Acid (GABA), a desirable amino acid, in the grain
Being in a dry, roasted, powdered or granulated state, the product of the present embodiment has a shelf life of one year or longer. The roasting step of the process stabilizes the rice bran and extends the shelf life of the final product or of the rice bran, if it is removed before grinding the processed rice into flour.
Although sweet rice has often been referred to as “glutinous rice” because it has a sticky texture when cooked, it actually contains no gluten, and, therefore, does not normally cause allergic reactions when consumed by gluten-intolerant individuals. Additionally, the process described enhances the inherent sticky texture of the sweet rice, yielding a uniquely close approximation of the glutinous texture of dough or batter made with wheat flour, which is favored in certain applications.
A variety of favored ingredients may be easily added to recipes utilizing the present embodiment.